My initial thoughts on New Blood...
It's always a cause for alarm when your favourite artist ditches the usual band in favour of an orchestra. Peter Gabriel's musical mid-life crisis began last year, with covers album Scratch My Back, which wasn't bad, but not particularly memorable. Plus it wasn't Peter Gabriel songs, which is one of the main things that interests me in his music. So with that in mind, there is some rejoicing to be had with the release of New Blood, an orchestral reinvention of Gabriel back catalogue favourites – not to be confused with greatest hits, as many of his most popular tracks such as "Sledgehammer", "Games Without Frontiers" or "Shock the Monkey" are appropriately absent.
On first impressions, New Blood isn't your stereotypical symphonic album; it's quieter than expected, and the moments where you expect the music to leap out, it does quite the opposite – and vice-versa. While some tracks simply sound like new arrangements of their counterpart originals, others have been turned completely upside down. Never one to do things by the book, Gabriel has deliberately avoided the use of guitars and drum kits, which has led to some unusual results.
Tracks such as "San Jacinto" and "Wallflower" from Gabriel's fourth album have never sounded better, perhaps surpassing the originals, as they sound like they were always intended to be played this way. "Intruder" takes a very different approach to the drum-heavy original, but manages to be just as dark and creepy. The same goes for opening track, "The Rhythm of the Heat", clearly chosen because the original was so focussed on percussion, but transformed into something equally as dramatic.
However it's 1986's "Red Rain" which steals the show. Not only does the stunning, cinematic new arrangement prove the timelessness of Gabriel's songwriting, but it reinvents the song for a whole new generation. I can easily imagine hearing snippets of this in films or adverts for some time to come.
In contrast, "Digging in the Dirt" sadly fails to perform, instead sounding much more interesting on the instrumental bonus disc, which contains, as you may suspect, an instrumental version of the album, which holds up as a brilliant piece of work in itself. "A Quiet Moment" is not a song at all, but a few minutes of ambient sound and distant birdsong, recorded live on Solsbury Hill – which eventually leads into Solsbury Hill itself, which closes the album.
Gabriel's vocals are as emotive as ever, although age has led him to re-evaluate some of the higher notes, but without losing any impact or distinction. Appearing as backing vocalist on most tracks, Gabriel's daughter Melanie's vocals are sadly rather quiet in comparison to her father's, and Ane Brun comes across ather shrill for my taste on "Don't Give Up". With that in mind, maybe this is one track that should never have been touched, because let's face it – you simply cannot replace Kate Bush.
Although some fans may be frustrated that New Blood doesn't contain any new songs, it's simply nice to have a new album from Peter Gabriel, especially just 18 months after Scratch My back, which in his timescales must be close to light speed. But those are minor gripes. New Blood is an ambitious and creative piece of work, the results proving that Peter Gabriel is just as significant today as he ever was.
